Cougar 550M Gaming Mouse Review

Table of Contents

Introduction & Design

[Editors' Note: About a week after we published this review, Cougar informed us that the pricing on this mouse had been reduced to $39.99.]

Although you may not know the name, Cougar is becoming to gaming mice what Dell is to laser printers: a manufacturer that builds extensive product lines whose visuals and strengths show a remarkably similar DNA.

Cougar is a rising star in PC-gaming gear—and especially, budget-priced gaming gear. Pivoting on a balance between cost and features, each of Cougar's eight currently available gaming mice is planned for a specific user need and budget. It's a sound business model. It's also a way to lower production costs by reusing some parts—hardware and software—while broadening the line. Doing so can mean passing along part of the savings to consumers. After all, while it may sound pricey for a general-use mouse, $59 is much more reasonable for a feature-filled gaming mouse, as long as it remains competitive with the likes of Logitech and Razer around its price point.

That may prove to be an issue here, as we'll see later in this review. But Cougar can't be faulted for producing an unattractive or unprofessionally designed mouse. And its design has a few subtle twists to throw at the basic hourglass look, which you can see here…

It does the standards you'd expect in a gaming model. There's the "parking light" effect at the bottom. The tapered edges curve in at the center for a better grip. Pincer claws for the left and right buttons are present, just in case your computer monitor mutates into a rabid wildebeest and decides to attack. But, in fact, the two sides don't match up, and we don't just mean the two buttons on the left, either. Let's take a closer look at the right side…

The 550M’s body doesn't, in fact, taper in the usual way, down and in, but rolls to fit the grip of the fourth and fifth fingers and the side of the palm.

There's something else unusual about the 550M's shape, if you look closely. It doesn't take a degree in anatomy or human factors and ergonomics to realize that when the hand is cupped and held face down—as it is, around a mouse—it arches to a high point under the index finger's third joint. (Professionals call that the metacarpophalangeal joint. We'll call it, for ease of use, Fred.) Most horizontal mice ignore that arch, but notice this…

The 550M takes into account the hand's horizontal arch, as well as the expected, gentle vertical rise up from the wrist into the palm. Let's see it again, this time from a rear perspective…

It's not by any means a unique approach. Several mice have this, including our Best Gaming Mouse award winner for 2014, the Logitech G602. But it's uncommon enough to bear mentioning. It's also not that noticeable when you're holding it, which is as it should be. This is a subtle adjustment that pays dividends over time.

Another point becoming more common among mice sporting the hourglass shape is the ribbed grip. We saw it on the right, above. Here it is, on the left, along with the 550M's two side buttons…

It's not nearly as obvious under standard lighting as it is in these idealized photos, but it is a point in this mouse's favor. You’ll feel it even if you don’t see it.

The 550M is 5.1 inches long by 2.8 inches wide by 1.8 inches high. This is quite close to another, much pricier hourglass mouse we’ve reviewed, the SteelSeries Sensei Wireless, which comes in at the same length, and 2.7 inches wide by 1.6 inches tall. They're very similar in weight, too: 4.2 ounces for the 550M, 4.22 ounces for the Sensei Wireless. And, as with the Sensei, so with the 550M: It doesn't really make for a comfortable fit in a small hand. It's best suited to a medium-size or large one.

Of course, at well over a hundred bucks the Sensei is in another feature league. One major difference is that the Sensei Wireless comes with a charging dock, while the 550M uses a thickly braided USB cord that's just shy of 6 feet in length. It extends from the front far left of the unit, and it isn't detachable, as you can see…

We prefer a detachable cord because it makes traveling with the mouse a bit easier, and because if it can be replaced if it's damaged. Not so, this one.

Between the left and right mouse buttons sits the scroll wheel, hedged in by two quirky-looking orange flanges that might be the result of extra-terrestrial influence, or Modern Art…

It's a fairly thick wheel with a rounded top, and ridged like a tire. We like the feel, which is midway between some of the tight, hard-to-move wheels we've tested, and those that feel all too loose and move too easily.

Back of it, you'll notice what looks like a button, but isn't. It's a switch you pull towards you to cycle through the resolution (dpi) settings. We'd frankly have preferred a button. Gamers know that you don't want to lift your finger from your left or right mouse button when forced to change resolution settings in the heat of battle, but that's exactly what this cycle switch requires. With a button, you could have pushed down using a lower joint on one of your fingers. Fortunately, the switch can be reassigned, something we'll get into in our next section. (Though that still leaves you with a switch you can't do much with in real-time combat.)

Speaking of the resolution switcher, let's take a glance at the mouse's left side, from another perspective…

In front of that pair of thumb buttons is a set of three vertical light bars. These illuminate (one bar, two bars, or all three) according to which of the three dpi settings stored in the 550M is in use at any given time. Another bit that lights up is a thin section of the mouse between the orange plastic outline of the lower section and the main body. You can set its color, something we'll discuss in the Features section. But since it's covered by your hand, you won't see it.

Finally, we come to the underside of the 550M. There's frankly nothing worth showing, here, just the optical sensor, and a set of three rubber pads: two under the left and right mouse buttons, and one outlining the lower rim.